Process of making cereal food product



' called brea one kin Patented Jan. 5, 1932 UNITED STATESTPATENT OFFICE soon a. rmr, or naram, w you rnocrss or xaxme cram roon rnonuc'r lz'o Drawing. Application fled June 25,

My invention relates to a cereal food product and process of making same.

The principal object of my invention is to devise a food product, formed by a blending of several kinds of cereal grains, which shall embody the attributes of a complete cereal food through utilizing the constituents characteristic of each grain.

A further object is to devise a food product as above described, and particularly one composed of the grams wheat, barley, and oats which shall be thoroughly cooked before reaching the consumer, thus making available the full nutriment of these grains in their most di 'estible condition, and which, when prepare for the table with the usual liquids, is characterized by a degree of firmness suflicient to induce thorough mastication and a desirable stimulation of the salivary glands.

A further object is the contrivance of a process for the manufacture of the above product which shall preserve and suitably blend the food compounds of the grains employed, and also e ect a transformation of the grains into a palatable state.

In the resent manufacture of the so kfast foods, the common practice is to employ, for any given food, grains of usually either wheat, oats, corn, barley or rice, to form a granulated, shredded, or flaked, product which ma or may not, require further cooking on t e part of the consumer. The cereal rains, however, differ characteristically in t eir chemical composition, so that a food product made wholly from one grain may, for example, contain a satisfactory percentage of proteins, but be low in carbohydrates, or vice versa, or it may be lacking in certain valuable mineral salts. Which ever of the grains is selected and regardless of the character of the process to which it is subjected, the final product will necessarily be inferior in that it is lacking in ciertain essentials requisite to a complete foo In addition to the above objection, it is well known that certain of the present cereal foods reach the consumer in either a partly cooked, or a wholly uncooked, condition, thus 1928. semi No. 888398.

necessitating further cooking before the food is ready for actual use. .Other foods exhibit a mushy characteristic when prepared for the table and hence are ineflective as a. means of promoting a flow of saliva as an aid in diges- 6 tion, while others are so poorly formed as to break down under mastication leaving certain portions which are highly resistant to the teeth, such as the bran in wheat products.

It is the purpose of my invention to pro- 00 duce a cerea food thatshall be free from the foregoing. objections in that it shall be a complete, nutritious product, thoroughly cooked, palatable and of a character to induce proper mastication. In forming my improved food, wheat, barley and cat grains are preferably employed in some predetermined roportion, the constituent elements of whicli are thoroughly blended together so that the resulting pz 'oduct is of a homogeneous character.

hile differing in food content, these grains bear certain definite relations to each other in respect of nutritious values, wheat for example, possessing a high albuminoid and carbohydrate content, barley a relatively low albuminoid but a high carbohydrate content, with cats occupyin an intermediate position between wheat an barley in point of albuminoid content, but possessing a relatively hi h oil content.

ence, a composition of the fore oing cereals will be rich, both in the body building and energy producin nitro enous compounds, and also in the eat an energy producing starchy matter. The proportions of the grains may be adjusted as desired and, accordingly, I do not desire to be limited as to the exact proportions used, nor to a food composed of all three -grains, for it is contemplated that, in any given case, a union'of any two of the grains may produce a satisfactory food.

These and further objects of my invention will be set forth in the following specification, and the novel means b which said 011- jects are efi'ectuated will be efinitely pointed out in the claims.

In carrying out my improved process, the wheat, cat and barley grains are first thcr-' oughly cleaned in any approved manner, thus no removing all foreign substances and prepar under presure, as hereinafter described. It

has been ascertained that this step in the rocess for the wheat and barley grains may effected by a partial cooking thereo either separately or with the two kinds 0 grains mixed together, while the cats are soaked separately, or they may be softened by a moist steaming. It will be understood, however, that I do not desire to be restricted in the method of softenin the various grains, as methods other than t ose indicated may be utilized. 7

Curing or tempering of the wheat comprises the next step in the process. At this stage, the rains, althou h somewhat softened are still whole and t ey may be mixed together either before or after t e temper ing step. This phase of the process removes a sufiicient percentage of the moisture conu tent of the partially cooked grains for the of preventm any excessive adherence thereof to the re uction rolls and it also the practical advantage of softenmg and otherwise conditioning the grains 86 for said rolls, for which a particular consistency is desired. The tempering also serves to renderthe grains more digestible. 1 The three kinds of whole grains havin been mixed together, they are next passe 88 through a reduction machine'which is composed either of one smooth roll and one roll aving a plurality of circumferential grooves cut in the surface thereof, or of one smooth roll and one circumferentially and longitudi- I 4O nally grooved roll, or of two such grooved rolls, rovided with combs, or scra" ers, for removing the product therefrom. do not desire to be limited to the particular kind of rolls heretofore described, as the essence of to this step in the process is the reduction of the whole ains, artly cooked and temred, to a t oroug ly mixed condition by a irect and sin le action. It is contemplated that these ro s shall be placed in contact,

' the grains therefor being forced and impasted into the grooves and removedtherem by the scrapers. Reducing the ains according to this method not only e ects a thorough mixing of the different kinds of II grains, but also of the component parts of each gra-inand this result is achieved without any'necessity for grinding. If desired,

. v the mass as it is delivered from the reduction rolls may be passed again between a second 00 pair of such rolls, as it has been ascertained that the consistency of the product is thereby improved.

At this stage, the substance is moist and pliable and is then cooked for several hours 65 in any approved form of apparatus, preferably using only an amount of water that can be absorbed by the substance, thus transforming the elements of the various grains into a con ition easily assimilable by the (human system. This step is a complete cooking treatment, serving to distribute the colloidal pro erty of the grains, embodied in the starch an gluten, throughout the mass and softenin tent of t e grains.

The substance is then permitted to cool finally achieving a partly gelatinous state or consistency, after which it ma be cut into and expanding the cellulose consheets or strips and dehydrate in a suitable oven. These sheets or strips are then und to produce granules of any desired size. If desired, however, the gelatinous product may be dried in other forms, and it will also be understood that the product may be toasted either during or after the drying process in order to impart a special flavor.

A product made according to the foregoing process is characterized by several novel features. The thorough mixing, effected .by the reduction rolls, 0 the component arts of each and of all of the grainsdistri utes the starch and luten throu bout the mass so that the colloidal action 0 these elements in the presence of moisture renders the whole product gelatinous, and a uniform fusion of grains are transformed into a gelatinous mass of uniform consistency and com osition, and it is from this mass that the finished product is formed in the shape of granules, cakes, or other desired sha Y The relative amounts of t e various grains emplo ed are preferably in the proportion of eig t parts of wheat,four parts of oats, and two parts of barley, although this formula is to be regarded as merely su not is thoroug ly cooked but in prepari for the table, it is deemed advisableto bo d the same in water for from one to three min-;

utes in order to cause absorption thereof for effecting a hot' food. This method of hanive.- As prepared b the above process, t e proddling is entirely for the purpose of softening the product, but not to the extent of destroying its resistanoe to mastication. v t will, be evident that my im roved food product possesses superior quali cations as a nutritious a ent,ow1ng to its embodiment-of the essentia necessary to a complete food.

'lhe valuable mineral salts, the; regulatory fore oing processing of the ains, the

woo y arts thereof, embodied in the bran and ce ulose, are so thoroughl softened and expanded as to function with t e eatest efliciency in aiding the progress of t e food through the alimentary tract of the consumer. During the cooking steps of the process, the starches undergo a complete dextrinization which improves the digestibility of the product, but at no time does the tem perature rise sufliciently high to destroy the vitamin content of the component cereal ains. While I have shown one arrangement of v steps in a process by which m improved product can be formed, it' wil be understood that the same are intended for illustration only and that many changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit ofm invention and the scope of the ap nded c aims.

claim:

1. The herein described process of preparing a food from wheat, barley, and oat grains, which consists in softemn each of said grains mixing said reducing t e assembly o grains to a thoroughly mixed mass, cooking and dehydrating said mass, and shaping the residue into any desired form.

2. The herein described process of preparing a food from wheat, barley, and oat grains which consists in'partly cooking the .wheat and barley grains, softening the oat grains, mixing all of said ains while whole, reducing the assembl o grains to a thoroughly mixed mass, urther and completely cooking said mass, and dehydrating the same.

3. The herein described process of preparing a food from wheat, barley, and oat grains, which consists in softening the-wheat and barley grains together, separately softening the oat grains, mixing all 0 said grains together while whole, reducing the assembly of grains to a thoroughly mixed mass, cooking and dehydrating said mass.

4. The herein described process of preparing a food from wheat, barley, and oat grains which consists in partly cooking the wheat and barley grains together, separately softeningthe oat grains together w ile whole, reducing the assembly of grains to a thoroughly mass, further and completely cooking said mass, and dehydrating the same.

5. The herein described process of preparing a food from wheat, barley, and oat ains while whole,

ains, mixing all of said mixed elements thereof will combine to form a thoroughly mixed mass, further and completely cooking said mass, and dehydrating the same.

6. The herein described process of preparing a food from wheat, barley, and oat grains which consists in partly cooking the wheat and barley grains, separately softening the oat grains, temperin and mixing all of said grains together whi e whole, reducing the assembly of grains so that the elements thereof will combine to form'a thoroughly mixed mass, further and completely cooking said mass in an amount of water that can be absorbed thereby, and dehydratmg the same.

n testimony whereof I aflix m si ature.

scorr H. E KY. 

